Machine for shrinking felt articles



April 14, 1925.

H. A. G E NEST MACHINE FOR SHRINKING FELT ARTICLES Filed June 9, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ham 6, a 681165! April 14, 1925.

H. A. GENEST MACHINE FOR SHRINKING FELT ARTICLES Filed June 9. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Md L P a Q Q w J Q l1 5 3.9V. I b a 1 wmmn n m m WW. i 11%|- m w a m 1 WM WM m l n: ll 6 r NW M Q. f O I um April 14, 1925. 1,533,350

H. A. GENEST MACHINE FOR SHRINKING FELT ARTICLES Filed June 9, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Invenior Patented Apr. 14, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOMER A. GENEST, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES HAT MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.. A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

- MACHINE FOB SHRINKING FELT ARTICLES.

Application filed June 9,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOMER A. GENEST, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in a Machine for Shrinking Felt Articles, of. which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the shrinking of felt articles, for example bats from which fur hats are made. According to the usual method, after a bat has been blown upon the forming cone, it is dipped into scalding Water and then given a preliminary manipulation so as to harden it somewhat to permit it to be handled with safety. Then the bat is rolled up in a blanket, which is wet with hot water, and the rolled blanket and bat are then manipulated so as to shrink the felt. It is necessary, in this old practice, to manually roll up and unroll the bat in the blanket many times and knead it. When proceeding in accordance with this old practice, there is considerable loss of fur, highly skilled labor is required, and the process is slow and tedious, so that the expense of shrinking the bats is excessive, and the resultant product is not always uniform.

This application is a continuation, at least in part, of my application Serial No. 6%,882, filed May 23, 1923.

The aim of the present invention is to provide in a machine of this sort various features of novelty and advantage and, more particularly, to provide an improved arrangement by means of which hat bats may be very speedily andunifornily shrunk, felted and crozed without employing highly skilled labor, and by the use of which the bats are automatically crozed, dags and rods being eliminated, and the desired shape of bats being uniformly obtained; also, by the use of which a cheaper fur may be employed to produce as good or better hat than heretofore and. generally, to provide a machine for economically producing superior and uniform articles of the character described.

In the accompanying drawing. 1' have shown one of the various embodiments which the present invention may take, but it is to be understood that this showing is by way of exemplification only and is not to be taken as restrictive of my conception,

1923. Serial No. 644,360.

the nvention being susceptible of various mod fications and changes which would be within the spirit of the invention, without departlng from the scope of the appended clalms.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 1s a plan view of a machine embodying the improvements of the present invention Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 1, seen from the outside of the machine;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken, in part, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, only a few of the rollers being illustrated;

F g. 4 shows a bat to be shrunk; and

Fig. 5 shows the bat of Fig. 4: in a shrunken condition.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the

frame of the machine, which, of course, may

be of any suitable construction, is here shown as comprising two side frames 10 and 11 suitably tied together with braces,

S upported within the frame are two travelling belts, each preferably endless, and one positioned above the other, the upper belt be- 111g designated by the numeral 12 and the lower one by the numeral 13. The upper belt passes around the drums 14 and 15, one or botlr of which may be driven, in the present instance both being driven, as hereinafter described more in detail. The lower belt is supported by the drums 17 and 18, both of which are preferably driven, and slack 1,. the belts may be taken up by idlers l6 and 19, respectively. The belts may run 111 any desired direction. in the present instance the upp r one runs in the direction of the arrow 20 and the lower belt in the opposite direction. The bats may be guided from the upper surface of the upper belt to the upper surface of the lower belt in any suitable manner, as by means of guide rolls 22. As the bats are carried through the machine, they are wetted with scalding hot water, and to this end I provide the pipes 23 from which the water may be discharged onto the working faces of the belts, as will be hereinafter described more in detail. The construction, so far described, is generally similar to that illustrated in my above mentioned eo-pending application.

In accordance with the present invention, the upper or working portions of each of the belts is preferably made to travel in a wavy or zig-zag course, and to this end I provide guide rolls arranged in staggered relatlon. Referring to the drawings, it will-be seen that the upper belt passes between guide rolls 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 staggered relatively to one another. The lower rolls,.

which are designated by even numbers, may be termed, for convenience, as belt supporting rolls, and the intervening ones, which bear against the upper face of the belt and which are designated by odd numbers, may be termed belt deflecting rolls in that they cause the belt to travel in a wavy or zig-zag course, resulting in a bending or flexure of the belt alternately in opposite directions. The guide rolls for the lower belt are similarly arranged and bear similar reference numerals, except that these numerals are primed. Some, at least, and, preferably all,

of the guide rolls are positively driven, as hereinafter described more in detail. Preferably, the working faces of the endless belts 12 and 13 are provided with a multiplicity of projections or knuckles, and these knuckles, by preference, are elastic, and, to this end, they may consist of vulcanized soft rubber. It will be noted that the supporting rolls and intervening deflecting rolls are so spaced apart that the belt and the bats carried thereon are not pinched or squeezed be- .tween the deflecting rolls and guide rolls,

this arrangement being of advantage in that the required depth of wave in the belt may be obtained; the resiliency or stretchability of the portions of the belt between the supporting rolls istaken advantage of to press the bat against the defletting rolls; and periods of recovery of the bat to each side of the deflecting roll is had. More particularly, what is meant by periodsof recovery is that the bat is free to recover or assume a normal unpressed condition between the lines on which the bat is pressed.

In addition to the guide rolls for each belt, I provide, in accordance with the present invention, a series of pressure rollers which are arranged and which operate in a novel and efficient manner. These pressure rollers are designated by the numeral 35. In accordance with the present invention, these pressure rollers are adapted to engage the working faces of the belts and, preferably, two of such rollers are associated with each of the supporting rolls in such manner that, as the bat passes over each supporting roll, it is pressed towards that roll along two lines. Thus, there is positioned between adjacentdeflecting rolls a pair of intermediate or pressure rollers. It is, of course, understood that the number and arrangement of pressure rollers may be varied as desired.

Also, by preference, the pressure rollers of each pair are symmetrically .positioned relative to a line passing through the axis of the supporting roll with which they are as sociated and the crest or central portion of the wave in the belt as it passes over that roll.

The pressure rollers may be urged against the travelling belts and the bats carried thereby in any suitable manner. In the present instance, each pressure roller is rotatably supported at its opposite ends in the arms 37 of right angled levers journalled at their intermediate portions on the gudgeons 38 of the deflecting rolls 25, 27, etc. The relatively long arms 39 of the angle levers are connected at their free or upper ends by springs 40 in such manner that'these springs urge the pressure rollers against the travelling belt. For convenience in illustration, the springs 40 are each shown as connecting an angle lever journalled on one gudgeon 38 to an angle lever journalled on the gudgeon 38 of an adjacent deflecting roll. The degree of pressure with which the pressure rolls bear against the bats carried by the belts 12 and 13 may be varied by connecting the springs 40 at different points along the length of the arms 39 and to this end I have shown these arms provided with spaced openings 41 which are adapted to selectively receive the hooked ends of the springs 40. It will be noted that, with this arrangement, the pressure with which the pressure rollers bear against the bats may be easily adjusted. Also, it will be seen that each pressure roller is associated with only one guide or supporting roll, that is to say movement of each pressure roller is influenced only by the bat as it passes over the guide roll with which that pressure roller is associated.

A constant flow of scalding hot water is delivered to the bats as they pass through the machine, and, to this end, the water is sprayed or sprinkled down onto the working faces of the travelling belts and the bats carried thereby by the perforated pipes 23. In the present illustrative disclosure, but a single belt passes between each set of deflecting and supporting rolls and, therefore, the water may flow down between the upper rolls onto the belts, insuring that sufficient hot water is supplied to the bats to obtain the proper shrinking and felting action. The water is supplied to the discharge pipes 23 from a tank 43. The water which drains. ofl of the belts drops into a lower tank 44 and is re-dclivered to the tank 43 by the pump 45 through the pipe 46. The water in the tank 43 may be heated in any suitable manner.

The various drums and guide rolls may be driven in any way desired. The following arrangement is here shown as one of the many ways which may be adopted. Mounted on the shaft 50 carrying the drum 15 is a drive pulley 51. On the other end of this shaft is a. bevel gear 52 meshing with a pinion 53 on a side shaft 54. The other drum 14 is driven by the side shaft 54 through the intermeshing pinion and gear 55 and 56, respectively. On the side shaft are spiral gears 57 meshing with gears 58 fixed to the sup-porting rolls 26, 28 and 30. The deflecting rolls are driven from the supporting rolls through the intermeshing gears 59. The drum 17 is driven from the drum 14 through a chain of gears designated by the numeral 60. The supporting rolls and deflecting rolls for the lower belt are driven in a manner similar to that in which the corresponding rolls for the upper belt are driven.

In operating the machine, the bats are placed on the right hand end, referring to the drawings, of the upper belt 12, are carried in a wavy course between the guide rolls 25, 26, etc., and are then deflected and guided by the rolls 22 to the left hand end of the lower belt 13, which belt carries the bats between the guide rolls 25, 26, etc., to the delivery or right hand end of the lower belt. When the bats are transferred from the upper belt to the lower one, they are turned over, the advantage of this being that both sides of the bats will be similarly operated upon. When the bat has reached the delivery or right hand end of the lower belt, the operator, without moving his position, may turn or reverse the bat and again place the same on the upper belt and, thereafter, the bat may be passed through the machine as many times as desired. In other words, the bat is repeatedly passed through the machine, successively, in diiferent directions,- the advantages of this being that the bats are crozed successively along different lines and the bats are properly shaped, as is more fully described in my application Serial No. 644,361, filed under even date herewith and covering the method resulting from the use of a machine such as herein disclosed. A constant flow of scalding hot water is discharged onto the belts and the bats carried thereby from the pipes 23.

As each belt passes between the supporting rolls and the associated deflecting rolls, it is given a wavy course; that is, it, together with the bats carried thereby, is bent or flexed first in one direction and then in the opposite direction, and so on. Preferably, the working faces of the belts are rovided with a multiplicity of elastic knudlrles so as to'provide a large number of points, so to speak, at which the bats are worked or kneaded. hen the belts pass over the supporting rolls, these knuckles, owing to the flexure of the belt, move apart slightly, and when the belt passes beneath the deflecting rolls, the knuckles move slightly towards each other and, owing to this constant action of separating and drawing the knuckles towards each other, the fur of the bats is very effectively kneaded. The pressure rollers, which are preferably idle, very materially increase the speed with which the felting and shrinkmg are done and effect the crozing of the bats 1n a succession of slight shifting movements. As described fully in my aforesa d application, filed under even date herewith, when the forward edge of the bat is brought into engagement with the pressure roller, the movement of that portion of the bat whlch first engages this roller is somewhat retarded so that immediately behind the roller a wave or ripple is made in the upper ply of the bat, and this wave is advanced or progressed throughout that ply, resulting in the upper layer being shifted slightly relative to the lower one. As the bat is fed further into the machine, the first guide or deflecting roll will tend to drive the upper layer or ply of the bat at the same speed as the lower ply. When the bat comes in engagement with the next pressure roller, a second ripple or wave is produced which will be progressed throughout the upper ply, and this occurs throughout the length of the machine. As the bat passes under these pressure rollers, they are ralsed, causing the springs 40 to be stretched to a greater extent. The higher a pressure roller is lifted by the thicker portion of the bat, the greater will be the pressure exerted on the bat at that point. The pressure rollers, arranged as described, are free and independent in that they can accommodate themselves to the thickness of the bat, whichisof advantage in that the bats are usually thicker at one end than at the other.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a bat carrying belt, guide rolls arranged to guide said belt in a wavy course, and pressure rollers in addition to said guide rolls bearing against said belt.

2. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a bat carrying belt, guide rolls arranged to bend said belt alternately in opposite directions, and pressure rollers bearing against said belt, each of said pressure rollers engaging the belt along one line only at any given time.

3. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a bat carrying belt, guide rolls arranged in staggered relation whereby to bend the belt alternately in opposite .directions, pressure rollers in addition to and between the guide rolls and bearing upon the working face of said belt, and means for supplying hot water to the working face of the belt and the bats carried thereby.

4. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a plurality of supporting rolls, a bat carrying belt supported thereby, deflecting rolls in staggered relation to said supporting rolls whereby the belt moves in a wavy course, and pressure rollers in addition to and between said deflecting rolls and engaging the working face of the belt and the bats car-' ried thereby. t

5. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a plurality of supporting rolls, a bat carrying belt supported thereby, deflecting rolls in staggered relation to said supporting rolls whereby the belt moves in a wavy course, pressure rollers in addition to and between said deflecting rolls and engaging the working face of the belt and the bats carried thereby, and means for discharging a flow. of hot water onto the belt and the bats carried thereby;

' each roller having but one 6. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a belt, means for guiding said belt and the bats carried thereby in a wavy course, and pressure rollers bearing against the working face of the belt and the bats carried thereby, J line of contact with the belt and bats.

7. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising supporting and intervening deflecting rolls in staggered relation, a belt'passing between said rolls in a Wavy course, and a plurality of pressure rollers associated with each supporting roll and pressing said belt and the bats carried thereby thereagainst.

'8. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising supporting 011s and intervening deflecting rolls arranged in staggered relation, a bat carrying belt passing between said rolls in a wavy course, and a pair of pressure rollers associated with, and arranged on either side of the crest of, each supporting roll.

9. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a bat carrying (belt, guide rollers arranged in staggered relation to guide said belt in a wavy course, means for driving said guide rolls, and idle pressure rollers bearing against said belt' and the bats carried thereby.

10. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a bat carrying belt provided on its work- 'ing face with a multiplicity of kneading knuckles, guide rolls arranged to guide said belt in a wavy course, and pressure rollers bearing against said belt.

11. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a belt provided on multiplicity of elastic knuckles, means for guiding said belt and the bats carried thereby in a wavy course, and ressure rollers bearing against the working ace of said belt v and the bats carried thereby, each roller having but one line of contact with the belt and bats.

12. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a plurality of sup orting rolls, a bat carrying belt supported thercby and provided on its working face with a multiplicity of kneading knuckles, deflecting rolls in stag- -carrying belt supported thereby and its working face with a 1 gored relation to said supporting rolls whereby the belt moves in a. wav course, and pressure. rollers between said eflecting rolls and engaging the working face of the -elt and the bats carried thereby.

13. A bat shrinking. apparatus compris-. ing a plurality of supporting rolls, a bat rovided on its working face with a multiplicity of kneading knuckles, deflecting rolls in staggered relation to said supporting rolls whereby the belt moves in a wavy course, pressure rollers between said deflecting rolls and engaging the working face of the belt and the bats carried thereby, and means for discharging a flow of hot water onto the belt and the bats carried thereby.

14. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising supporting and intervening deflecting rolls in staggered relation, a belt passing between said rolls in a wavy course and provided on its working face with a multiplicity of kneading knuckles, and a plurality of pressure rollers associated with each su porting roll and pressing said belt and the bats carried thereby thereagainst.

15. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising belt supporting rolls, an endless belt passing over said rolls and provided with amultiplicity of kneading knuckles, deflecting rolls 'in staggered relation to said supporting rolls for guiding the belt in a wavy path, pressure rollers bearing against the Working face of said belt, means for driving said supporting and deflecting rolls, and incians for discharging a hot bath onto said 16. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising guide rolls arranged in staggered relation, a bat carrying belt passing between said rolls in a wavy course, pivotally mounted pressure rollers bearing against said belt, and means for causing said rollers to bear against the belt with pressure.

17. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising guide rolls, an endless belt guided by said rolls, pressure rollers bearing against said belt, pivotally mounted arms in which said pressure rollers are journalled, and springs for swinging said arms in a direction to gapse the pressure rollers to bear against the 18. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising guide rolls arranged in staggered relation, a belt passing between said rolls in a wavy course, pivoted levers, pressure rollers journalled in corresponding ends of said levers, and springs connecting the other ends of the levers.

19. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising supporting rolls, intervening deflecting rolls having suitably journalled gudgeons, a belt passing between the deflecting and supporting rOlls in a wavy course, angle levers journalled on the gudgeons of said deflecting rolls, a pressure roller journalled in one arm of each lever, and springs connected to the other arm of each lever.

20. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising guide rolls arranged in staggered relation, and a belt passing in a wavy path between said rolls and adapted to carry a bat in a substantially flat condition, the working face of said belt being provided with a multiplicity of elastic kneading knuckles, and certain of said guide rolls; engaging the working face of said belt and the bats carried thereby.

21. '& bat shrinking apparatus comprising a belt adapted to carry on its working face bats in substantially flatwise condition, said Working face being provided with a multiplicity of closely packed together elastic kneading knuckles of pyramidal form, and a plurality of staggeredly arranged rolls between which said belt passes in a wavy course whereby the belt and the bats car- ,ried thereby are alternately bent to and fro,

fleeting rolls being so spaced that the belt and the bats carried thereby are not pressed therebetween.

23. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a plurality of supporting rolls, a plurality of deflecting rolls staggeredly arranged with respect to said supporting rolls, a belt adapted to support on its working face bats in substantially flat condition and adapted to pass over said supporting rolls and beneath said deflecting rolls in a wavy path, said working face of said belt being provided with a multiplicity of elastic kneading knuckles, and pressure rollers engaging the working face of said belt, said supporting rolls and deflecting rolls being so spaced that the belt and the bats carried thereby are not pressed therebetween.

24. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a. series of supporting rolls, an endless belt travelling over said rolls and provided on its working face with kneading knuckles, and a series of rolls engaging the working face of the belt and the bats carried thereby and positioned between said supporting rolls whereby the belt is alternately bent in opposite directions.

25. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a series of supporting rolls, an endless belt travelling over said rolls and provided on its working face with elastic kneading knuckles, a series of rolls engaging the working face of said belt and the bats carried thereby and positioned between said supporting rolls whereby the belt is alternately bent. in opposite directions, and means for delivering a hot bath down between said rolls and onto the working face of said belt and the bats carried thereby.

26. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a series of supporting rolls, an endless travelling belt supported by said rolls, a series of rolls engaging the working face of said belt and the bats thereon, a second series of supporting rolls, a second endless belt supported by the last mentioned rolls, a second series of rolls engaging the working face of the second mentioned belt and the bats carried thereby, and means for defleeting and guiding the bats from one of said belts to the other one, the rolls engaging the working faces of said belts being intermediate the associated supporting rolls whereby the belts are given a wavy course of movement.

27. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a series of supporting rolls for supporting an endless travelling belt, a second series of supporting rolls for supporting another endless travelling belt, said travelling belts, each set of supporting rolls having, in combination therewith, a series of rolls between which rolls and belts the bats travel, and 100 means for deflecting and guiding the bats from one travelling belt to the other one, each of said belts having its working face provided with a plurality of elastic kneading knuckles.

28. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a series of supporting rolls, an endless belt travelling over said rolls and provided on its working face with a plurality of elastic kneading knuckles or projections, a series of guide rolls engaging the working faces of said belt and the bats carried thereon and interposed between the supporting rolls whereby the said belt is alternately bent in opposite directions, a second series of supporting rolls, and a second endless belt travelling over the second series of supporting rolls and provided on its face with elastic kneading knuckles, guide: rolls engaging the working face of the second mentioned belt and the bats thereon and interposed between the supporting rolls of the second mentioned series, means for driving the belts and the supporting rolls, means for discharging a hot bath of water onto the belts and the bats carried thereby, and means for deflecting and guiding the bats from one belt to the other one.

29. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a belt adapted to support a bat in unrolled and substantially flatwise condition and having on its bat engaging surface a multiplicity of individual elastic kneading knuckles each adapted to independently knead a relatively small area of the bat, said knuckles in the aggregate comprising practically the entire working area of the pad, and means for bending under pressure said pad and the bat thereon progressively and repeatedly to and fro thereby causing the knuckles to alternately move towards and away from each other.

30. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a belt adapted to support a bat in substantially flatwise and unrolled condition and having on its bat engaging surface a multiplicity of closely placed together elastic knuckles, each of which is adapted to independently knead a relatively small area ofthe bat, and means for guiding said belt in a wavy path whereby said belt with the flat bat thereon is alternately bent to and fro and the knuckles are caused to move towards each other when the belt is bent in one direction and away from each other iwhen the belt is bent in the opposite direc- 31. A bat shrinking apparatus comprising a plurality of rolls, a belt guided alternately over and under said rolls and having a surface adapted to carry a bat in unrolled condition and provided with a multiplicity of relatively small elastic kneading knuckles, each of said knuckles being of relatively small dimension both crosswise and lengthwise of the belt and tapering towards its top, the aggregate of saidknuckles practically occupying the entire working area of said surface, said rolls being arranged to guide said belt and the fiat bat thereon in a wavy path whereby said knuckles are alternately moved towards and away from each other.

HOMER GENEST. 

